Never Give Up, Never Surrender

The blog title I used today used to be a Spark team I had named and been a part of. I have a new ending to the saying, Adapt for Happiness. It's been over 5 years since I suffered the mysterious health decline in 2013. After 13 physicians and specialists, painful and frustrating testing, enough x-rays to fill my maximum for radiation for years and pints of blood drawn, I drew the line at a spinal tap. I asked my doctor if I could try the Cymbalta that other people use for Fibromyalgia and it worked for me to help tolerate the pain. Little by little, I have been able to walk more and no longer feel weak as I had before. I still have pains in my feet and wrists when I overwork but I am so much better than I was in 2013-2016. I did gain a bit of weight from the 5 year hiatus, just trying to feel like I was normal again. I am suffering from foot pain again at the moment but have found exercises I can adapt to that would help my mind and body without suffering such as Qi Chong. I have found I can ride my old cruiser bike for a few miles again and be ok and I am able to walk with the dog and husband for more than a block again.
The biggest thing is finding my breaking point and learning not to go there. I cannot handle too much stress without my nerves and mentality going catty whompus, I have found a relatively low-stress job that I am settling into. Taking online college courses full time while working full time has been very stressful but leaving Real Estate behind has helped my stress levels.
I set some lofty goals at my 40 year age to go to college and get a degree in Applied Ecology with GIS. This field requires a bit of being physically fit and so I need to come up with a game plan to feel that I can meet the expectations of a field technician to romp in swamps and study ecology. I would love to start internships by Summer 2019. This gives me appx 18 months to lose appx 50 lbs which is a lofty goal. I am trying to structure the goals and tasks to get there as assignments of a college course where I can dedicate a set amount of time with a set amount of effort that I grade myself with to see if I graduate by Summer 2019. It may seem silly but I don't think it hurts to find unique motivation techniques to help guide me to the right path.